Lady Gaga sings a sold out concert at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan.

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Lady Gaga arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles.

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Lady Gaga goes through countless extreme and outrageous costume changes during her Monster Ball Concert held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada.

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Lady Gaga dressed in raw meat for the new cover of Vogue Hommes Japan.

The Halloween ghost
When she wore this three-tiered Francesco Scognamiglio white dress to the Brit Awards in February, Gaga paired it with a white lace mask by Philip Treacy. It’s a look that evokes a high-fashion Casper the Friendly Ghost. For costume designer Martin Pakledinaz, though, it’s worse: “She looks like a 1960s Miami Beach retiree,” he says. “There are too many things going on at odds with each other. As for the big hair, it would have been more effective if she showed some of her body underneath, and your eyes would have gone there.”
RESULT: GAG ME!

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The red lace mask
This red lace Alexander McQueen concoction was one of five — yes, five — outfits Gaga wore to the MTV Video Awards in September 2009. It covered her entire face and hands and left her unable to see, eat or talk. She later told Oprah that the outfit was meant to be a “continuation” of her performance. “Spooky and scary,” declares Pakledinaz. “But I think she wants to creep people out. It’s very Lee Bowery [an Australian performance artist]. It’s cool that she’s presenting him to a new generation.” “She’s playing with the business of seeing versus being seen, and blindness as a castration symbol,” says Valerie Steele, director and curator at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
RESULT: GAGA!

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Space-age dress
Gaga wore this Armani Privé dress at the Grammys in Los Angeles last January, which swirled around her body like the rings of Saturn. Jewel-encrusted stockings covered her enormous platforms. “[The designer] Giorgio Armani is someone who’s always been very aware of the pop-culture celebs. He was the first of designers to really latch on to red-carpet dressing for Hollywood,” says Steele. “He’s usually low-key and elegant, and doesn’t go for wacky clothes, but it’s not surprising he picked up on her as being a pop-culture phenomenon.”
RESULT: GAGA!

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Crustacean chic
At February’s amFAR Gala at Cipriani, designer Terence Koh, stylist Nicola Formichetti, and the Haus of Gaga created the look called “88 Pearls,” for the number of pearls glued to the costume. The white crust on her face is reminiscent of a barnacle-covered sea creature. “Masking or veiling has an element of mystery,” says Steele.
RESULT: GAGA!

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After performing at her “Monster Ball” concert at London’s O2 Arena, Lady Gaga, wearing a latex rubber dress and a crystal-encrusted lobster, stops at Mr. Chow restaurant before returning to her hotel.

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She loves hair bows, hates pants and can walk in 10-in. heels. She’s eccentric, she’s whacky, and she’s lauded as 2010’s version of Madonna. Lady Gaga’s distinctive style has transformed her from a pop icon into a fashion trailblazer. To prove it, take a look back at the uber-talented singer and performer’s style.
Lady Gaga rocks a leotard to MTV’s “TRL” studios in Manhattan.

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For a later “TRL” visit, Lady Gaga brings back her hooded-leotard look.